Collection Highlights: Ancient Egyptian Art

Whose portrait is this? The headgear and moustache identify the figure as an Egyptian pharaoh; the tall crown with the rounded top, known as the White Crown, signified rule over southern Egypt. Broken at the neck, the head originally belonged to a full, probably standing, statue. In ancient Egypt, such statues were placed in tombs to serve as eternal images of the deceased. Sculptors sought to convey the pharaoh's divine character, while also experimenting with realistic portrayals of the human face and body.

Displayed in a museum case, this head resembles isolated portrait heads familiar in Western arttempting us to think of it as a finished object. The original statue probably provided further clues to the figure's identity, perhaps including a hieroglyphic inscription naming the pharaoh. Details of the crown and face suggest that this statue was carved in Dynasty 5 or 6, the period following the building of the Great Pyramids at Giza (ca. 2500 B.C.E.). Few royal statues survive from these dynasties, making this head a rare example of Egyptian royal portraiture produced toward the end of the Old Kingdom (26752130 B.C.E.)

The method of forming glass vessels on a core of sand and clay was introduced to Egypt from neighboring Syria early in the New Kingdom (ca. 15391075 B.C.E.). Precisely when and where the twenty examples housed in the Freer Gallery of Art were made is unknown. Comparison with vessels and fragments excavated from royal glass workshops, however, suggests that most of the Freer examples were made during the reigns of the Dynasty 18 pharaohs Amenhotep III (ca. 13901353 B.C.E.) and Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten (ca. 13531335 B.C.E.). They may likewise be the products of royal workshops.

Please note: The Freer Gallery of Art will be closed to the public from January 2016 until summer 2017. The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Library, and Archives will remain open for the duration of the renovation. Learn more »